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My short story "The Killer 10" appears in an anthology with everything from baby-eating demons to, well, my story about a dude who really has to take a shit while a serial killer's on the loose. It's... er... at the very end. Seriously, it's the very last frigging story. WTF.

Anyway, the cause is fantastic-- ALL of our proceeds go to an organization that helps homeless people in all sorts of ways, from getting shelter, to jobs to (most importantly) mental health services. That last part is really rare-- the most difficult to reach homeless people are the mentally ill, and few organizations are willing to engage with the most vulnerable people of all.

At any rate, it's on SALE from Feb 8-12 for just $0.99. So get it while it's on sale! Or get it when it's *not* on sale to give an even larger donation to our charity.

Done with pleasure, but we never get the bargains so hopefully more money for your cause.

Not my usual reading fare, bit of a scaredy cat, but will read your story at least then pass on to more appreciative member of the family. Very happy to support help for the homeless.

Edited to add, six hours later -Hey, Bradley - I read your story first, it is scary as hell and totally shitty. This collection ends with one of the best.The rest of you will have to read it to know why I am so mean. Despite never choosing to read horror, spent the rest of the day finishing the whole book.

Well varied package of fourteen scary stories and five creepy poems, that is a terrific bargain. If you are lucky enough to be able to buy at the special price Bradley quoted, snap it up fast, you won't regret it and even if you pay more it is worthwhile.

Horror doesn't need to be graphic to give you the chills and some of the situations are frighteningly familiar - or so they seem at the start. Glad I no longer need to catch a Night Bus, as I once did after work.

Thanks Bradley that was a top Sunday arvo entertainment. Now need to go for a walk to ease my conscience after that long indulgent read.

Re: Jobs or Degrees outside of Writing?
I worked in a packaging plant in High SchoolGot my EMT cert then worked on an ambulance through college (and as a sports med tech at rugby games) and in a hospital during summersgot a BA in Biology (and Peace Studies) but realized medicine is profiting off sick people and couldn't go through with med schoolspent some time in South America interning with an environmental organizationthen worked as a PA on a news-magazine TV show that acquired a documentary distribution nonprofitI also waited tables at the same timeI eventually quit so i could have the free time to make my own documentary about an oil refinery that exploded in south america and paid for it by gogo dancing, tho it was a mixed bar, mostly filipina elementary school teachers would come in to stick dollar bills in our underpants (left with like 75$/hr it wasn't bad even if you felt weird paying for things with crumpled dollar bills covered in baby oil)Then I moved to Asia taught english in China for 3 months and did research for an Int'l NGO in Vietnam for 6 months, then picked up a job working with homeless kids in Indonesia making music videos while researching another human rights doc for like 1.5 yearsMoved back to the US for a couple of months and did bartendingBartended in a giant nightclub that hosted a male revue for women (serving drinks in a bowtie with no shirt- most money I ever made actually) then worked for an environmental Political Action Committee in California for a year or twoAfter that I went to grad schoolbut while in grad school i did contract work for international NGOs working in Mali and Niger, documenting innovations (more like reformations) in emergency relief (humanitarian aid to starving nomads in the middle of the Sahara) and microfinanceI also took a year off to be a policy analyst for a small environmental justice organization in LA where everyones sick from pollutionThen i did research in SE Asia and S. America for 4 years. Wrote my dissertationNow I have a PhD in Applied AnthropologyI got a temp gig teaching Visual Anthropology (Filmmaking for anthropologists/anthropology for filmmakers)But mostly I'm broke. i've got some grant apps out to fund my next filmmaking adventure but these grants take a ton of effort to write and they barely cover my costs.I hate academia, but my academic writing does really well (I get people asking me to write chapters in their books etc. and actually this latest teaching job someone asked me to come teach it, I didn't apply), but getting a tenure-track academic job (the only kind that pays a living wage) is exhausting and there's too competitive so i don't know if I'm good enough and the environment is often catty and awful and now I'm overqualified to go back to NGOs or do something fun and creative which I'd rather do than academia anyway.

So I play the Powerball a lot and dream of quitting my life. If that Powerball doesn't pan out, my other dream is writing creative nonfiction or this fantasy series that's been burning a hole in my mind.

I have to write it, whether it does well or not, but i dream of being able to write full time, even though I know I've got a snowballs chance in hell. My fantasy series is sort of meh and it's taking years to revise it and its still not good enough so... we'll see what happens I guess

I've got a short story about a dude that really has to take a shit in a charity anthology on Amazon that everyone seems to like, And another story about a guy that calls a phone number he sees scrawled on a public toilet stall in another charity anthology, but that's about it.
March 11, 2016, 02:29:31 AM

Government IT, airplanes... there's some serious technical skills in this group. If the world ends I wanna be trapped in a bunker with you all. I can mix some drinks in a bowtie while you all build computers and shit.
March 19, 2016, 10:56:30 AM

I am a consultant in digital media, currently working with several music recording studios, a robotic design firm, and several colleges doing things from working with curriculum to designing television studios. I also do consulting in program development for universities, helping programs move to a sustainable model when faced with state budget cuts. On the side I keep my hand in my original career of film and television directing and have a couple of projects per year. I also maintain a History of the Great War website, am a game designer, and run a scholarly group called the Thin Tweed Line, which are all writing like though.

For public service I have a certificate in Law Enforcement from the South Carolina Academy, and formerly held certification as a forensic investigator. I spent 5 years of road duty 2-nights a week. During that time I was a "first in" building entry person, worked with investigations involving digital video, but otherwise my religion prevented me from being a super cop and I was pretty ineffective as one - except for the video stuff I did.

I try to work with students in creative projects as much as possible due to my religion and personal beliefs. In fact, I just raised about $90,000 to support a group of student filmmakers and authors develop a web series from script to screen and am negotiating with a couple of universities to see where the project will be based. I have a soft promise of a Scarlett and Avid is coming through with stuff for the project since it will likely be based at an Avid Certified location.

As an aside I have a BS (HON) in Human Studies with majors in History, Religion, Business, and English; a MS in Communication Studies in history of technology, and completed my coursework, dissertation, and competencies in a Ph.D. in Communication but the university would not issue the degree when I came down with a fatal degenerative illness. I survived the illness, but never got the degree so I am the only person in the world who is legally ABD for the rest of their life. Related to others in this field I have worked with anthropological film, but Nanook never pays and if you do not belong to the "in crowd" in anthropology (anthropologists can be quite snooty about professional playing in their gardens) you cannot get people to take your work serious, but I admire people who do work in it. I was a close follower of Karl Heider and took classes with him when I was more into it, so the anthropologists on this forum have a tip of my hat.

More important than me is my wife. She is a PhD biology who worked for the Brazilian Navy for years, a former ballerina, multi-lingual (Portuguese, Spanish, English, Italian, and for all I know, Urdu). She is a professor of anatomy and physiology teaching in a nursing program, and a volunteer in the health field with her EMT and STNA. My students when I was a professor said that she was an 8 who somehow married a 4-1/2.

Edited to add LEO work and things about wife.

Wow, you both sound like you've done all kinds of insanely interesting stuff. And you're a fellow visual anthropologist (well partially at least--you're right they're very snooty about what they count as anthropology and what isn't, but I'm glad to announce that's changing) Karl Heider is extremely famous-- I studied a bit under Stephen Lansing, if you know him, the Balinese water temple guy Goddess and the Computer and all that.

You'll have to post a link to your web series when it's done!
March 19, 2016, 11:04:44 AM

Re: Book Planning
The current series in my head has the characters major plot points, key scenes planned out piece by piece over the last 20 years. I've only written about 5% of what i've got in my head tho and still (endlessly) revising that tiny chunk. My imagination runs way faster than my ability to write.
May 01, 2016, 01:07:56 AM

I changed my approach to magic quite a lot, after doing more research on how fiction creates mystery, wonder, and uneasiness. My old approach was pretty safe, predictable, and reliable, which just doesn't really work that well for the kind of fantasy I have in mind.

@Yora That's the direction I've gone with magic too-- though I've gotta say I really liked your original system you posted first-- It sort of kick started the gaming nerd in me I especially love how silver plays a role in f*ing up magic.

In my system, different people from different places explain magic differently. The Magi who dominate the world see it as a logical system developed through study-- folk types and those who escape the magi (who if discovered are persecuted as witches) see it as tied to nature, and religious people see it as tied to the gods. Different countries and different regions also have their own take on it all (as well as which gods are good, which gods are bad etc), and different political relationships with the magi.

I started to write it all out in greater detail but then i realized it was gonna take me all night and I got tired and deleted it all....